


Horrifique

by Sashataakheru



Series: Spook Me fics [8]
Category: The Move RPF
Genre: M/M, Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 03:43:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12548060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sashataakheru/pseuds/Sashataakheru
Summary: There comes a point, when driving nonstop across the USA, where jetlag and tiredness and exhaustion can't explain away everything. Or can they?





	Horrifique

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [After All (The Undead)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2527322) by [Sashataakheru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sashataakheru/pseuds/Sashataakheru). 



> **Prompts:** vampire, also [this picture](https://images53.fotki.com/v1657/photos/6/3814576/14412321/astasja2529www_kaifineart_com2-vi.jpg) for spook_me 2017
> 
> **Author's Notes:** Fuelled by listening to The Last Shadow Puppets on repeat and a migraine, and also pomegranate tea. Apparently this is the best you're getting for Spook Me this year. Enjoy, I think. Set a few years after [this monstrosity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2527322), during The Move's first, and only, US tour in 1969.

For a moment, Rick was back home, in his bed, and not in a car with his bandmates driving across America in the middle of the god-forsaken night. Just for a moment, warm sleepiness took over, and he was sure he could smell her beside him. It was that perfume she always wore for him, just for him, a strange combination of watermelon and candy and the subtle scent of orange blossom that somehow managed to not smell ghastly. He smiled as he felt her hand on his thigh, a soft, gentle presence, and he shivered as he felt her warm breath on his neck, in his ear. Oh god.   
  
The voice that growled in his ear shook him back, as did the sound of a slap and a murmured apology. The voice was too masculine, and he looked at Roy, pressed against the door, with a weird look on his face.   
  
"Oi, fuck off, man, what the hell are you playing at?" Rick said, shifting a little away from him as best he could from the middle of the back seat.   
  
"'m hungry, sorry," Roy murmured and turned away from him, facing the window.   
  
Rick glowered at him before settling back into his seat. The fact that no one else was laughing at him at least reassured him they hadn't put Roy up to it. Still, their silence was disconcerting.   
  
"Don't mind him, he's just tired too. Go back to sleep. You'll be glad you did tomorrow morning," Carl said from the front.   
  
It wasn't a terrible suggestion. He was still tired. He felt Bev shift beside him, and his warm body and soft breathing were enough to lull him back to sleep. Closing his eyes, Rick let the rhythm of the car soothe him.   
  
  
They'd found another truck stop. Rick had no idea why this one was open at midnight, but he wasn't about to complain. He felt he needed to stretch his legs, and anyway, the bathroom called. Climbing out, he followed Roy, who also needed to pee, and made their way to the restrooms.   
  
There was only one, as they discovered. Rick was quite happy to let Roy go first, but he grabbed his arm, and pulled him inside with him. "It's not like we've never shared a bathroom before. C'mon, unless you wanna freeze out there."  
  
Rick shivered, but Roy had a point. It _was_ cold outside. Too tired to be in any mood to say no, he followed Roy inside.   
  
It stunk, in the way Rick had quickly grown used to since being here. This one, though, was a proper bathroom, with a shower, a toilet, and a sink. He took in the sights idly as Roy went first. Standing there, he could really feel how tired he was. The car wasn't exactly comfortable to sleep in, and his body felt stiff and achey in strange places. Maybe he was a little hungry too, now that he thought about it.   
  
"Go on, I won't bite. Only, let's get this over with," Roy said.  
  
Rick took in his words but didn't really understand them. His body did all the work. It was all routine at this time of the night. It wasn't late, not really; being in a band meant routinely seeing the early hours of the morning. That wasn't the issue. But he was halfway across the world, and unsure where he was, or what time zone they were even in. The featureless, dark, rural landscape did not help. They could be anywhere. And all he wanted to do was sleep.   
  
Just as he was finishing, Roy charged at him and slammed him against the wall, winding him. Rick stared at him in shock, trying to breathe as arms with inhuman strength pinned him down. Roy glared at him, angry eyes filled with desperation. Rick couldn't look away.  
  
"Hungry. Your turn," Roy murmured.   
  
After that, it was all a bit of a blur. Rick remembered pain, and the sensation of Roy sucking him off, which made him shudder with disgust. But then maybe it had all been a dream. He didn't know. The pain seemed to override the rest of it. But then it seemed to be over in just a second, so maybe he'd just been imagining it.   
  
It was just, the next thing he was really aware of was leaning against the wall of the bathroom with his trousers around his ankles and long cuts on his chest. Bleeding cuts. The shock was enough to rouse him to his senses, and he dressed and walked over to the basin to wash the wounds. He checked in the cabinet above the sink, out of instinct and habit, and surprisingly found some bandages. Not caring where they came from, he covered them up, buttoned his shirt, and pulled his jumper on, making sure he didn't look like the wreck he felt he really was.   
  
There was a scream. Or was it a scuffle? Rick wasn't sure. But then Charlie started shouting, and Bev was running, and Rick went to see what on earth was going on. He saw where they were running to, and joined them, only to find some figures dressed entirely in black wrestling Roy into a van. Rick felt paralysed. He was not a brawler. In a moment, Roy was gone, and Charlie lay on the ground, and the sound of an engine roaring and fading into the distance was all he could hear.   
  
"Don't just stand there, Rick, grab the car. We need to get Roy," Bev said.   
  
"Yep, sure, on it," Rick said, breaking into a run as he went back to the car. He didn't think, he just drove back to Charlie and Bev.  
  
"What happened? What's even going on? Is Charlie alright?" Rick said as he went over to them.  
  
"There's no time to talk, just get him into the car. We need to get Roy back," Bev said.  
  
Together, they helped Charlie into the back, and Rick sat beside him, refusing to keep his eyes off him as they drove off. Perhaps this was the daftest idea ever, but Rick wasn't sure what else they should do at midnight in the middle of nowhere. Charlie seemed ... dazed. He hadn't seen any blood on him, but he'd clearly taken a knock, and kept murmuring to himself about Roy. Rick knew they were close, but he expected that, given how long they'd spent playing together. It didn't seem unusual, until-  
  
"Gotta find 'im, Bev, I c'n feel 'im. Blood stinks, so strong, heart so loud. Is all dark, all dark, but she's there, jus' keep going, gotta follow the road, so much pain," Charlie murmured, looking like he was about to pass out.   
  
"It's alright, Charlie, we're sensing him too. We're getting close. Just hang in there, yeah?" Bev said.  
  
Rick decided not to worry about sensing Roy. There was too much going on, and he was too worried about Charlie. He reached for Rick's hand every so often, squeezing it gently, closing his eyes for a moment. He looked terrible. Rick thought he should probably be in hospital. Looked like a bad concussion. But they were driving after Roy now, so Rick felt there was no point in saying anything. Not that that stopped him.  
  
"You sure we shouldn't get Charlie some help? He's looking pretty bad back here," Rick said, unable to keep quiet.  
  
"Don't worry about him, it's all Roy's pain, not his. He'll recover when we get there," Bev said.  
  
None of that made sense to Rick, but he found himself nodding in comprehension anyway, because what else was he to do? He'd lost his capacity to question these things, and he wasn't sure if that was just jetlag and panic and tiredness, or whatever it was he might have actually dreamed Roy did to him in the bathroom. Either way, he shifted closer to Charlie and took his hand, hoping he was going to be okay.   
  
  
It was the bright fire of burning torches and a long procession of people that brought them to a halt. The road was blocked. The car stopped, and Bev got out.   
  
"What's going on?" Bev asked, in case anyone might tell them.  
  
"They caught another monster. We're here to purify its soul and send it back to where it came from," was the response.   
  
"Go to the barn, join us if you don't want to be damned," said another.   
  
Rick peered at them from the car, unable to see anything except dark, hooded figures. The fire they carried did nothing to reveal who they were. Rick was beginning to think this was a bad idea.   
  
Bev got back in the car. "Keep going. There is room to drive there, they'll at least get out of the way for us. I'm sure that's where Roy is."  
  
"He's the monster they say they've caught? What the hell? These people are mad, let's just get out of here," Rick said, suddenly very unsure about whether they should keep going.  
  
"We'll tell you later, just leave it for now. We need to get moving if we want to save him," Bev said. "Drive on, Upsy, and don't stop for anyone."  
  
And so they drove on, slowly making their way through the procession to the barn. There were other cars here, too, all pulled up outside this barn in the middle of nowhere. Charlie came to life as the car stopped, and he got out before anyone could stop him.   
  
"Come on, then, let's go make sure he doesn't get himself killed," Bev said.   
  
Leaving the safety of the car, Rick followed Bev and Upsy as they chased after Charlie. He led them inside the barn, where there was already a sizeable crowd. At one end, a platform had been raised, and tied to a platform that hung from chains from the rafters, was Roy, but he was almost unrecognisable.   
  
Rick stopped. All he saw before him was a demon, with Roy's body moving in inhuman ways. He hissed and growled like an animal, and his face was wrinkled and cut and disfigured.   
  
"Are you looking for your little friend? Oh - oh, you didn't know, did you, love? You didn't know your friend is a vampire. I can smell the mesmer on you. Snap him out of it for me, will you?"   
  
The woman who spoke did not seem obvious to Rick, nor was it obvious who else she was talking to, but all of a sudden, a bucket of water was thrown at him, and he suddenly felt like he was alert and aware of everything around him. Suddenly the world was in technicolour.  
  
She emerged from the crowd of dark figures and shadows, blonde hair and a wicked smile on her face. She approached him and touched his cheek with a finger.   
  
"He got you bad, love. But that's what these vampires do. They mesmerise you, so you don't see them. So you do what you're told. They get inside your head, and you can't get them out. You wanna see what he did to your friend?" she said.  
  
It wasn't a question. She took his hand and dragged him through the crowd, where Charlie was being held back as he reached for Roy, tears streaming down his face. Rick had never seen him so upset before.   
  
"We might need to kill him too. It's the only way to release the bond when it's this deep. He won't give him up. But that's how they corrupt young men and steal them away. They promise love, and only give them death," the woman said.  
  
Rick was lost for words. None of this made any sense. He wasn't sure he could trust what his eyes were seeing. But what else made sense? He didn't know. That was definitely still Roy up there, right? That was definitely Roy shrieking as they clawed at his skin and cut him with razors? That wasn't some demon that had taken over his body? Something deep within him felt this was very, very wrong. But he was hemmed in and had no idea what to do.   
  
Bev finally pushed his way through the crowd to him. "Roy decided not to tell you when you first joined. He didn't want you to worry. You were just there to play, what did it matter? But we were going to tell you properly when we got him back tonight. I'm sorry. I don't think he would have wanted you to find out this way."  
  
"I was the only one who didn't know?" Rick said at last.  
  
"It was safer that way. But he got us all too, in the end. We all fell under his spell. But Charlie fell harder than the rest of us. He'd do anything for Roy, even giving him his blood," Bev said.  
  
"Oh, it was more than that, I can promise you that. They were lovers, I can see it in their eyes. That creature led him into sodomy. No one's safe from these monsters. That's why we kill them. They aren't human. They don't deserve to live in God's country," the woman said.  
  
Rick went to speak, but that appeared to be the end of the conversation as she moved away from him. Bev grabbed his arm and they moved through the crowd towards Charlie.   
  
The sound of drums filled the air. Everyone pressed forward, and Rick had no idea what was happening. Someone had lit a fire in something. Rick couldn't really see, only feel the heat and see the light it emitted. What he could see was Roy being moved and lowered over the fire, and the intense shrieks that followed as he was dropped into it.   
  
Rick didn't remember what happened after that. His body froze. Everything froze. Bev dragged him away, he remembered that. The air was cold as they pushed their way out of the barn. Something told him to run. He ran. He was sure he heard gunshots.   
  
Instinct told him to follow the road back. Was Bev still with him? He didn't know. His body just told him to flee. He ran until he tripped, and he threw up, overcome with nausea. His head was spinning. He heard Bev tell him to keep running, and somehow he got to his feet, his legs made of jelly, and kept moving.   
  
And then, suddenly, Roy was standing before them, in the middle of the road. He reached for them, and then he fell forwards and collapsed, turning into a pile of dust. The dark face of the woman who had slayed him stepped forward.   
  
"I take it the vampires are that way?" she said, sounding way too cheerful for Rick's ears.   
  
"I - ah, yeah, I don't know. I don't know what happened up there," Bev said.  
  
"Blonde lady, bout so high, ridiculous Southern Charm?" the woman said, indicating the height with her hand.  
  
"I think so, I don't know. There was too much going on," Bev said.  
  
"You'd better keep running, then," the woman said, before she ran past them back towards the barn.   
  
Rick didn't need to be told twice, though now that he'd stopped, it was hard to get moving again. Bev grabbed his arm.   
  
"Move! Hurry!" Bev urged, and Rick somehow found the strength to run.  
  
  
The sound of a car behind them startled Rick, given how fast it was going. Bev pulled him out of the way, and Rick was relieved to see Charlie driving their hire car beside them.   
  
"Get in, we need to leave," Charlie said, sounding much more composed and in charge of things than he had been before.  
  
Rick and Bev climbed in the back, and they drove off, wasting no time as they followed the dark road back to the truck stop.   
  
They drove in silence. No one really knew what to say. When they got back, they pulled up in silence, where Roy was waiting for them, copious amounts of American junk food in hand, looking as if they'd left him behind. He shoved Rick over as he climbed in.   
  
"Told you I was hungry, you fuckers," Roy grumbled.  
  
The rustling of plastic packages and food being eaten was too much. Rick closed his eyes, and let the dark of the night lull him into sleep again.  
  
The next thing he was aware of was the sunrise streaming down low enough to hurt his eyes. He blinked, head aching, feeling hungover, aware only of Roy curled up beside him and strange nightmares dancing in his head. He almost asked what had happened, but decided he didn't want to know. It was just the jetlag, right? 


End file.
